Echo and the Bunnymen live at the O2 Academy Bournemouth (27.3.2026) with The Weave supporting.
The Bunnymen are no spring chickens – none of us are who’ve been ‘with them’ since 1980. (2022 Bunnies blog summarises.) Ian McCulloch (now 66) has been suffering, it seems, with reports of back pain, voice problems, set breaks, stools to sit on and crowd support for singing. If I’d not read reports of Leeds gig and the Manchester cancellation, with concern, I would never have guessed there was anything wrong.
I’m 63. I needed a seat tonight. We’re getting on. The setlist (Setlist.fm) was nothing short of brilliant and no criticism of the performance from me. I loved it, viewed from the back row of the top floor balcony in this impressive old building. Sound: excellent. Lighting: typical Bunnymen dark shadows and backlighting. This maybe to minimise irritation of McCulloch’s eye condition rather than hide aging faces.
Will Sergeant (67) is the other old guard Bunnyman on duty tonight, on lead guitar. The rest of the band are touring members.
There’s a clear view through the roof supporting ironworks from our rear wall bench seat. I like it up here.
The support band is a well established Liverpool jazz group: The Weave. I thought they provided a classy warm-up and backdrop, without demanding the usual attention that competes against the expectant chatter during many support bands.
As Echo and the Bunnymen open, with Going Up, from their debut LP, McCulloch appears through the darkness and not looking very agile. What pain is lurking under that big coat of his.
I can’t help but notice the huge stage floor signage and white lines, pointing the way to a safe exit. A few torches wouldn’t go amiss. It’s a bit dark for photos but I persevere.
This was billed as a ‘very best of’ tour and what staggers me is how the gems I’ve forgotten just keep coming. It helps that I must have played the key albums hundreds of times, especially the early 80s ones. More recently I have played Flowers a lot – a 2001 LP that I discovered later. Tonight they play the title track.
Will Sergeant’s guitar is striking on so many tracks with such well defined melodies. What a juke box they have to pick from – Crocodiles and The Cutter as earlier for instances.
In the artistic darkness, I still recorded one song – Rescue – to upload on my Grey-Haired Gig-Goer channel. That opening guitar cutting through the babble…. wow.
All My Colours has always been a top pick of mine and that masterpiece is unravelled for us. That later track, Nothing Lasts Forever (from Evergreen, 1997) is now nearly thirty years old and maybe more poignant if re-released now. I can’t help thinking that we are running out of road for Bunnymen gigs as we know them but this one, for me included, provides something of a fightback.
If Mac says anything in between the songs, I can’t hear it – I don’t suppose I ever do. They just get on and play. McCulloch and Sergeant are so damned cool they don’t need to do more. They have the songs and the legacy. It’s enough. No chirpy cheerleaders or flashing wristbands here.
The latter part of the set brings the big sounds out – songs where an orchestra is not out of place (it’s been done of course). The likes of Ocean Rain, Bring on the Dancing Horses, for which there is a crowd participation chorus, and The Killing Moon, which Mac famously refers to as one of the greatest songs ever written.
The show ends with Ocean Rain, the second of two encores. A wonderful gig. No glitches. No reservations about recommending you catch them. Nothing lasts forever. Enjoy it while you can.
Gigs with Ivan 